Neoporphyra kitoi sp. nov. (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) from Japan, with new blades arising from rhizoidal cells

A new species of Neoporphyra, Neoporphyra kitoi sp. nov., collected in Honshu, Japan, is described based on morphology and molecular analysis. The new species can be distinguished from other foliose Bangiales species by both molecular analysis and developmentally with the production of new blades arising from rhizoidal cells and giving rise to multiple blades. Thalli of N. kitoi were observed to produce single and multiple blades in both fields collected and cultured thalli. Neoporphyra kitoi was morphologically similar to Pyropia pseudolinearis apart from this developmental feature. Molecular phylogenies based on both the nrSSU and rbcL genes of this species resolved it in a clade containing sequences assigned to the genus Neoporphyra.